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That was why fangs appeared when Elias had gone too long without feeding—why he craved her blood. Some part of him was vampire. Or perhaps the origin of his power was from vampires. How had she not put that together?

“Now, you know the truth,” Breckett said with narrowed eyes—as though she were the one who’d caused all this.

Only men could become erox. For reasons she didn’t understand, women died in the transition to become this kind of demon. That meant for centuries, Magnus had been preying on vulnerable men and experimenting on them.

Like what he’d done to Elias.

And for some reason, her mate was his favorite subject.

Jessamine dropped Arabella’s wrist and paced in the castle’s entryway, hand on her forehead and muttering obscenities that would have had the head enchantress blushing.

Brynne ran a hand over the back of her neck, her muscled arms near to bursting through her leathers. She was tall and had a tongue as sharp as the two-handed longsword sheathed on her back.

Her smaller counterpart, Cora, fixed her gaze on the floor, shaking her head. Like Jessamine, her hair was the color of summer sunshine. Though hers was far shorter, and she’d braided the hair at her temples back.

Arabella sighed.

They were right.

Outside the ward were hundreds of erox, ogres, gargoyles, and who knew what else.

Not long ago, she’d been captured by Magnus’ army—and that had been with an amplifier in her possession.

Even with her new shadow abilities, which had been awakened the moment she used the amplifier against the ogres, she’d be little more than a helpless rabbit.

The moment the erox drew too close to her, she’d be under their spell.

There was no way for a mortal to fight an erox’s magic.

They were all in over their heads.

“I can’t do nothing ,” she said, desperation seeping into every word. “He’s my?—”

Mate.

The word caught in her throat.

She’d never voiced her feelings for Elias or what they were to each other. The thought of putting words to it when he was far away, likely being tortured, made her throat constrict and her mouth go dry.

Somehow, a magic usually reserved for the fae had touched them both, binding them to each other.

Before she’d lost her memories, the mating bond had clicked into place. Then it had disappeared when her memories had been taken by the Witch of the Woods. The moment her memories came back, the bond had settled in her chest once more.

“I can scent it on you,” Breckett said. “The mating bond.”

Arabella crossed her arms. “That’s gross.”

The erox rolled his eyes.

“Elias got my memories back,” she said. It wasn’t a question. Somehow, he’d done something to return her memories. As she spoke, her eyes never left Breckett. “How?”

“Magnus.”

Of course.

There was no bargaining with the Witch of the Woods to get her memories back. So, to free them from one of the most powerful witches on the continent, Elias must have sought out another magic wielder—one strong enough to simply take the memories from the witch.

“If I know anything about Elias, he would have given his freedom in exchange for Magnus’ help to return your memories,” Breckett said. “Magnus would have accepted nothing less. He’ll likely be…” He swallowed. “Performing research.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and the castle entryway’s stone walls swirled around her as though she stood in the center of a tempest.

Something hard cracked against her knee, and she realized her legs had given out and she was kneeling on the stone floor.

It felt as though a great weight had settled on her.

Taking a single breath felt like an insurmountable impossibility.

She brought a hand to her chest, pulling her leather jacket open.

Her hands shook as she tried to loosen it.

“I… can't… breathe…” she managed between labored gasps.

The agony that had been flowing down the bond crescendoed. For a moment, she thought she could hear Elias’ scream. The soundless cry pierced her thoughts like the fracturing of the night sky. It was ragged and infused with desperation.

“The bond.” Breckett’s voice echoed as though he spoke from down a distant corridor. “Whatever is happening to him, she feels it, too.”

She clawed at her corset, desperate to get a full breath as her heart pounded.

Her entire being felt as though it was entwined with his and submerged in flames.

She could sense his emotions and the endless tides of agony.

With sudden clarity, she knew Magnus was pushing Elias to the brink of what his body could withstand.

Please, she thought desperately. Let it stop.

How long would Magnus torture him? Surely, he knew Elias couldn’t take it much longer. If he didn’t stop, he’d kill him. Would that kill her, too? Did one mate die if the other perished? She had no idea.

But in that moment, it didn’t matter.

All she knew was Elias’ terror and pain, and her own desperation to protect him.

Tears fell onto the stones beneath her. Her shadows rippled, twisting and agitated, clawing at anything that drew near.

She had to do something. Her mate was in danger.

Shadows sunk barbed vines into the walls, sending pebbles clattering to the floor.

Suddenly, Jessamine and Cora were before her.

Their lips moved, but she couldn’t hear their words.

Cora clutched one of her hands, but Arabella couldn’t feel it.

Her body was no longer in this castle. She was leagues away—trapped, tied down, and unable to run away as a sorcerer plunged something into Elias again and again.

A shriek pierced the air. The sound was like the tolling of broken bells.

The castle trembled as though it felt the agony interwoven into that cry.

It was then she realized the sound was coming from her.

More shadows erupted.

Inky blackness cascaded in the entryway, as wild and untamable as the forest itself. Chunks of stones fell from the walls and the ceiling.

Let all who walked upon the earth feel fear for what was being done to her mate. She would take down the sky itself to get him back.

She was the wild shadows.

She was the night, itself.

Something struck her face, hard.

Air spewed from her lungs as her teeth clacked together, and she tasted blood. Her shadows writhed, stunned, but they didn’t yield. Something struck her across the opposite cheek, snapping her head in the other direction.

She managed to catch herself before her face collided with the ground.

As though a bubble had popped, the agony she’d been drowning in faded to the back of her mind.

It was still there. But her pain, her thoughts, were hers once more.

“Did you just hit me?” Arabella managed, spitting blood as her eyes narrowed on Brynne.

“You’re welcome.” Brynne dusted her hands, a vein ticking in her jaw. “Seemed the most efficient way to bring you back.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that. The shadows… They were alive,” Cora said from where she sat on the ground a few feet away.

When had Cora gotten on the ground? Arabella vaguely recalled Cora and Jessamine coming to kneel before her. Had Brynne pushed them out of the way to get to Arabella?

It was then she looked around.

Chunks of stones were scattered across the entryway. Some of the stones on the stairway had broken free, and sections of the railing were missing. Farther up, there were pebbles across the landing—the very same place Elias had pinned her down and nearly fucked her. That felt like an eternity ago.

With a sigh, she accepted Brynne’s outstretched hand and rose to her feet.

At once, Brynne, Cora, and Jessamine surrounded Arabella, their hands on her shoulders. Their gazes felt like the warmth of morning sunshine in the heart of winter.

Her family. They were here. They were safe.

They hadn’t abandoned her once they’d learned she’d fallen for a demon.

“We’re going to get him back,” Jessamine said, determination filling her eyes. “We won’t stop until we do.”

“You’re not alone,” Cora added.

“And you’re no use to anyone dead or out of control,” said Brynne, her tone matter-of-fact.

“I missed you all, too,” Arabella said, new tears filling her eyes.

For several long moments, they just stood in the hallway.

If she let herself, she could pretend they were back in the Quarter, the headquarters and home of the enchantresses in Shadowbank, holding each other close after a long day of training.

So much had changed since Arabella had offered herself to the Devourer.

Now, she had two homes to protect.

“Do I want to know what that shadowy shit was?” Brynne asked as she, Jessamine, and Cora stood before her once more.

Awaiting orders.

Once, Arabella had been the second-in-command to the head enchantress. The enchantresses had looked to her for direction and obeyed her command. But even when she was no longer in Shadowbank, these women prepared to follow her wherever she may lead.

It had something twisting in Arabella’s chest.

“I’ll explain about my magic later,” she promised to Brynne and the others. Then she turned to Breckett, a thought occurring to her. “Vorkle and the other goblins. Where are they?”

Breckett crossed his arms. “Most left the moment Elias did. They know what comes next, even with the repaired ward.”

Swallowing thickly, she managed a nod.

Elias would be tortured, and he could be forced to reveal that the goblins had been hiding in the castle.

Goblins were the only mortal beings who could portal from one location to another within the mortal and fae realms, even long distances.

Over the centuries, they’d been hunted down for this gift.

Most believed them to be extinct. But Elias had hidden a small group of goblins in his castle, using the ward to shield them from prying eyes.

“Are any of them still here?” Arabella asked.

When Breckett shrugged unhelpfully, she turned and strode down a nearby hallway that led toward the kitchens. If they were lucky, maybe one of the goblins would still be in the castle and could help them.